


Bug Bites in the Moonlight

by Incredibill



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Adult!Dipper, Bad Puns, Bill sucks at camping, Camping, Comedy, Dipper thinks Bill sucks at camping too, Fluff, Human!Bill, M/M, Rating might be up'd a few chapters in, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-07-21 14:26:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7390843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Incredibill/pseuds/Incredibill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mabel thinks it's about time Bill and Dipper actually became friends, but things don't quite go according to plan when she sends Dipper and Bill off on a leisurely camping trip.</p><p>Long story short; Two guys stuck in the middle of the woods with bugs, blankets, bonfires, screaming, wild animals, stars, more bugs, night swimming, and a pretty in-tents couple of days. (See, that pun is there to give you warning of my (and Bill's) awful sense of humour.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Good Morning Sunshine

**Author's Note:**

> This all takes place post-Weirdmaggedeon, but from that point onward it diverges past canon to fit with this story. The Mystery Shack was given Soos, but after a handful of years he moved away with his family so his kids could go to school. The Stan twins went off and had lots of fantastic adventures while coming back to visit home every once and awhile. They’re off wrangling Heffalumps or something during this story. They send postcards and pictures to the twins back at the shack whenever they can, and Mabel uses them to collage their entire fridge with memories. Both of the twins went to uni and Dipper is now a writer and Mabel does fashion-related things and they’re chilling at the Shack figuring out their futures.
> 
> … I think that’s a sufficient enough backstory.
> 
> The idea for this was formed when I went camping with some of my friends and one of my friends went and compared most everything to Billdip scenarios and I couldn’t get this stuff out of my head so I had to write it down.
> 
> I also don’t think I’ve ever seen a camping-related Billdip fic and I have a mighty need?? If anyone knows of any please show me because I’d love to read some. Anyways, this will be full of dry humor (and bad jokes) because that’s my favourite thing and probably comparable to a rom-com of sorts. It’ll definitely have a different and more relaxed feel compared to my first fic I think so, yeah... I hope any folks who find this enjoy :’’) I'll be alternating between writing this and my other fic depending on my mood. I think I’m starting to get the hang of this. Sorry for formatting and spelling errors.
> 
> \---  
> UPDATES/ect: incredibill.tumblr.com (I'm not super active there but I'll post updates on stuff when I can!)

_____

 

_Camping._

_With_ **_Bill Cipher_ **.

 

No fewer words had ever struck such immeasurable fear into Dipper’s heart perhaps since he was a child.

 

It had been years since Weirdmageddeon, and while things had changed between Bill and the sadistic triangle they once knew, Dipper still hadn't come to terms with the times.

 

A month ago something extraordinary (Well, Dipper had a _very_ different word for it...), had happened.

 

He had been wandering through the woods and stumbled upon a stone statue of the demon. It’s granite arm outstretched and coated in thick layers of moss and underbrush was merely an unassuming and barely noticeable lump. So unnoticeable in fact, he would have walked past it like he had many times before, but instead he tripped past it and fell face first onto the forest floor. Curiosity overcame him and the moment he reached out to touch its hand, he blacked out and was woken up by a man in his early 20’s with golden hair, somewhat tanned skin and a button-up shirt and pants poking him in the face with a sick.

 

After a few minutes of agitation and then acceptance of the situation, Dipper tried his best to fend him off but to no avail. Bill Cipher was back. He was back and alive but no longer as an all powerful dream demon, no… He was back and alive in his very own “flesh prison”. Cursed to spend the rest of his waking days as a mortal human.

 

All of this wasn't apparent at first - oh _definitely_ not.

 

Dipper and Mabel had spent the past month grilling, researching and interrogating Bill to come to this conclusion and even so, Dipper wasn't fully trusting of the guy. It probably didn't help that apart from his new body and lack of powers, Bill was mostly the same conniving, trouble making, excitable personality as he remembered. Only this time with the extra bonus of new and unexplored human emotions.

 

This caused many a sleepless night, multiple bandages (including one very memorable day with an arm cast), many cups of Mabel juice and a high-strung and stressed out Dipper Pines.

 

Mabel had been trying to get her brother to kick back and relax, but while she had become good friends with Bill, Dipper refused to open himself up and let the past go between them. She had tried to get them to go on little bonding trips into town or to the movies, but Bill still hadn't mastered the art of public image or proper manners and interaction with society seemed to only make everything worse.

 

That was why, the minute she had formulated this new brilliant plan of hers, nothing and no one was going to get in her way.

 

~*~*~

 

“... CAMPING!?”

 

“Wooahh, Dip-Dop easy now, don't break something -”

 

“- MABEL WHY THE HELL DO YOU THINK CAMPING, _OF ALL THINGS_ , IS A GOOD IDEA??”

 

“Just hear me out -”

 

“- SOMETHING THAT HAS OPEN FLAMES, NO PHONE SIGNAL, SHARP POINTY THINGS EVERYWHERE AND A DISTINCT AMOUNT OF PROBABLE DANGER INVOLVED IS _NOT_ A GOOD IDEA.”

 

“Dipper, you're being -”

 

“- I AM NOT BEING UNREASONABLE!”

 

“He says while shouting and not listening to me -”

 

“- I, I...”

 

“ _Dipper_.”

 

“...”

 

Mabel sighed and carefully placed her hands onto her brother's shoulders to steady him.

 

“You know, way (way) deep down, as much as I do, that the two of you need to talk some things through. And if you're not going to do it willingly you're going to have to deal with my wrath as well and it ain't gonna be pretty.” She smiled softly and pulled him into a reassuring hug to calm him down.

 

“It’s been what - seven years?”

 

“Eight.”

 

“Eight, yeah…” She pulled away from him. “Eight years since Bill was annihilated and he's not the same person he once was. Well, literally speaking as well because he actually _is_ a person now, but that doesn't matter because you're not giving him an extra chance to redeem himself regardless.”

 

Dipper’s face was glowing alongside the flickering lights of their living room fireplace. It was late. Bill was sleeping in Stan’s old room, and the thought alone caused his eyebrows to furrow.

 

“You’re doing it again Dipper.”

 

“Doing what?”

 

“Thinking too hard.”

 

He slid onto the floor and curled his legs up against his chest with a sigh. Mabel was right. Whenever it came to Bill, Dipper’s mind was always a storm of thoughts and questions… Many of them completely unnecessary and contrived. There was still so much unsolved about Bill and what had happened it caused a constant distraction against his writing and overall well-being.

 

Instead of answering, he pulled one of the blankets lying limp on the floor up and around his shoulders. It hugged him softly; like one of Mabel’s sweaters. If only he could hide away from everything under a blanket. There was no harm in pretending, at least for a little while, that the small fibers were an indestructible shield keeping him safe from the outside world.

 

He felt a soft nudge against his force field and looked up to see that Mabel had joined him on the ground. She stared thoughtfully into the flames and didn’t turn to make eye contact with Dipper as much as she must have wanted to. She looked tired. More tired than he’d seen her in a good long while.

 

The logs in the fireplace crackled loudly in the warm silence.

 

Maybe… Maybe Mabel had a point. However small, the thought remained that maybe Dipper _had_ been unfair to Bill.

 

It was true that since his reappearance the ex-demon had tried his best to be helpful around the Shack, and as much as he’d joked about doing a whole lot of awful things since returning, he never actually _did_ them... Perhaps it was time he took a deep breath and tried to listen to his twin.

 

Dipper glanced back into the flames and playfully nudged his sister hard enough to make her hold out a hand to stop herself from tipping sideways.

 

“Hey! What was that for?” She squawked at him.

 

“That. Was a taste of what’s to come if your idea goes to shit and I barely make it back home alive to say, _‘I told you so’_ ”.

 

Mabel’s face took a few moments to morph into a triumphant grin, but once she put two and two together she reached around Dipper and held him close in a tight hug.

 

“I knew you’d come around Dipper!”

 

“Hng, M-mabpgble yourb sswitshing mhee.”

 

“Whoops!” The girl giggled and relaxed her death grip. “I’m just so happy you've finally agreed to something. I know you won't believe me just yet, but I honestly think you two would get along really well if you gave each other the chance.”

 

Dipper made an indistinguishable grunting noise and broke away from his sister.

 

“Well… I’ll try my best. But if he does something messed up and/or dangerous, I will _not_ be held responsible.”

 

“Fair enough, I guess.”

 

Mabel brought herself up to her feet and stuck a hand out to help Dipper up off the ground. He sighed one last time and accepted it somewhat reluctantly.

 

“Now you better get off to bed so you have energy to pack in the morning.”

 

“Wait, _tomorrow_??” he managed to splutter back. “Don't you think that's a little too soon to spring this on me?... What about Bill??”

 

Mabel’s cheeks reddened a little bit and she let trill an awkward laugh, “I, er, miiiight have already told Bill earlier and he's already packed and excited to go.”

 

“... Mabel.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“I hate you.”

 

“I hate you too Dippin' dots~”

 

Before Dipper was able to respond, she had already started to bolt away upstairs. A speedy and slurred, “ _Haveagoodnight_!” was the last thing he heard before the distant slam of a bedroom door carried through the house and snapped him out of his thoughts.

 

Tomorrow was going to be a hell of a long day.

 

___

 

Dawn. The ass-crack of dawn was shining through the attic window right onto his face.

 

Dipper yawned and turned over to curl up in the shadows of his room - not wanting to get up and close the curtain.

 

Why had he woken up so damn early? He was sure he had set his alarm for 9:00am, so why was he awake? Normally he was a fairly heavy sleeper ever since experiencing the joys of dorm life and sunlight wouldn't have any affect on him, but here he was - staring at his bedroom wall.

 

He watched a spider slowly make its way across the wooden panels for a few minutes before a muffled bang echoed up through the floorboards and made him jump; scaring both him and the spider (which scuttled as fast as it could to its home against one of the rafters on the ceiling). A look at his phone told him it was 6:42am, and now that he was completely awake he decided to tear himself out of his covers and confront whatever had woken him up.

 

Dressed only in his boxers, Dipper traipsed down a flight of stairs and found himself in the hallway leading to his sisters room (and also Bills.) Now the real question here, was who was the culprit? He knew sometimes Mabel could go off on little creative bursts and work on things well throughout the night, but if she did she was always really careful to not make any noise. While unlikely, he supposed it could have been her… but his gut was telling him this was no sweater emergency.

 

He positioned himself outside the door of Bill’s room and yawned once before raising his hand to knock a request for entry. The brunet perked his ears after the noise had stopped echoing through the hall and heard nothing but silence in reply. He was just about to knock again, when a muffled clattering and some muted footsteps broke the quiet. This time, he heard someone walk up to the door frame, unlock the door and twist the handle. Dipper fully expected the door to swing wide open, but it only moved an inch out of the frame.

 

A bright blue eye was the only thing that he could see through the crack, and it was studying his lack of attire with what appeared to be a mix of confusion and discomfort.

 

“... Yes?”

 

“... Bill. Do you know what time it is?”

 

(The eye’s stare didn't waiver nor change.)

 

“Bill, its 6:42. AM.”

 

(The eye hadn't blinked the entire conversation.)

 

“Bill, are you even listening to me.”

 

“Actually, it's 6:50am”

 

“Bill I swear to god-” He paused, hoping for a quick explanation.

 

(The eye squinted slightly.)

 

“I… I’m sorry if I woke you up. I really didn't mean to. I promise I’ll keep it down, okay?”

 

Dipper huffed and prepared himself for one of their usual bickering sessions. “Bill, I don't want any excuses, I ju- wait, what?”

 

Dipper, for once stunned into silence, left his mouth hung slightly open in astonishment. Had Bill just apologized immediately? Genuinely apologized? He wasn't really sure what to say anymore. Bill on the other hand, took matters into his own hands.

 

“Pine Tree, you better close that handsome mouth of yours or else a bug or spider is going to nose dive itself right into that gaping maw and I don't want to wake up Shooting Star as well, she needs her sleep. I said I was sorry. Can I get back to my room now? I have to pack a few more things before we leave.”

 

Dipper instantly shut his mouth and the tip of his ears warmed into a slightly darker shade of red from embarrassment. He closed his eyes, breathed in and out slowly a couple of times, then sighed, admitting defeat.

 

“Yeah, sure… Just make sure it doesn't happen again, okay?” He replied lamely.

 

“Aye aye Cap’n.”

 

The door shut and Dipper was left standing alone in the dimly lit hall. So much for taking control of that situation. He hadn't even found out what Bill was doing.

 

Oh well, no matter. Now that he was awake, he decided he should properly start the day and go and make himself a _very_ strong pot of coffee.


	2. Isolation with Isosceles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The camping adventure finally begins. Or as I like to call it, the perfect time for Bill to start being a little shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead. At least not yet anyway. Sorry this is a freakishly short update, but now that it's taking me longer to find motivation to write I thought it'd be better to post shorter chapters sooner rather than keep people waiting. Hope some of you are still alive heh. Voltron's captured the grips of many hearts it seems and I have to admit I'm one of them.
> 
> Unbeta'd as usual RIP.

Blood, sweat, tears and nearly twelve hours after their morning escapade, concluded with two bundles of fabric silently sitting around a misshapen fire. One of the bundles was muttering quietly to itself, while the other was rocking back and forth slightly like a child.

 

The temperature had dropped substantially since their morning commute and Dipper was glad his sister had insisted on stuffing handfuls of quilts and blankets into the back of their truck.

 

The sentences, _“It’ll be totally fine Mabes!”_ and _“I don’t mind a little bit of cold, it’s barely autumn!”_ played back stupidly in his mind.

 

Dipper looked up without moving his head to see how Bill was coping and noticed how totally entranced he was staring into the bonfire. His eyes were wide (did this guy _ever_ blink?) and with the shadows dancing across his face he looked so much younger than Dipper knew he really was. At least now the most tasking parts of their camp setup were over.

 

Relaxation was at the top of his to-do list and there was no way in hell he was going to let Bill interfere with that.

  
  
~*~

 

They had ended up leaving the shack sometime in the early afternoon due to Bill’s less than stellar packing habits. He had tried to take as many of his possessions as possible with him, which had included and were not limited to; his bed’s mattress, multiple pressed suits, an ironing board, coffee making equipment, silverware, old waterlogged fireworks and - after putting most of it back inside - he'd come back out with an old kitchen sink he had found in one of the storage rooms in the shack. Mabel had appreciated the joke, but Dipper on the other hand, had not cracked a single smile.

 

While camping in Gravity Falls Might have been more convenient Dipper had insisted they go as far away from the towns “weirdness bubble” as they could so they wouldn't have to deal with any creatures and supernatural mishaps. Bill hadn't seemed to care, so they drove as close to the border as they could in order to find a place to pitch a tent. Bill appointed himself as the navigator and followed their route on Dippers phone the entire silent drive in order to find an interesting place to stop. In the end, they had found a long winding dirt road leading to a small picturesque lake.

 

The forest surrounding it was a perfect specimen of normality as far as their experiences with forests were concerned. It was littered with towering pines and the sweet earthy smell of rotting needles with the occasional melody of birdsong. All sounds of humanity were muffled apart from the odd plane in the distance and it was quickly concluded to be the end of their journey.

 

The campfire had been sorted early on so they would be able to cook something for dinner, but the tent had been another matter entirely. When they had extracted it from the boot of the truck and unpacked the pegs and poles, at first glance the tent seemed a little smaller than it should have been. Dipper had anticipated a nightmare of tent pitching instructions but Bill had seemed to know exactly what to do even faster than he had. His brightening mood however was soon shattered when they discovered the reason the tent seemed so small was simply because it was.

 

It was a one person tent with just enough space to kneel and Dipper had decided right then and there that the universe was out to get him and he was going to surrender to it’s battle and sleep by himself under the stars.

 

~*~

 

In a small clearing underneath the creaking pines the fire was finally calm enough for them to cook an easy meal of hot dogs.

 

Dipper begrudgingly peeled himself out of his blanket cocoon to open the cooler and start preparing the food and sent Bill off to look for roasting sticks. He returned almost immediately and sat himself next to the brunet awaiting further instructions.

 

“Are these really made of… dogs?”

 

Dipper turned towards Bill’s confused voice and held back a laugh. “Oh my god, have you never eaten a hot dog before?”

 

The ex-demon scrunched up his nose in disgust and watched as Dipper skewed it onto one of the roasting sticks.

 

“No, and I never thought you of all people would be okay with eating ‘man's best friend’, he rebutted.

 

“Bill, these aren't _actually_ made of dogs,” he half grinned. “It's just what they're called... and I’d have thought you of all peop… well, _beings_ , wouldn't have an issue with that. I mean, you were a chaos dream demon. You've destroyed entire civilizations without a second's thought.”

 

The blond huffed once and looked back into the bonfire. “Yeah, but have you _seen_ a Corgi Pine Tree? With their little legs and fluffy butts,” he said with his face void of any emotion. Bill lifted his hands up and twiddled 4 of his fingers to mimic a running animal. “Mabel showed me some videos of them and they're too cute too destroy.”

 

Dipper’s growing smile faltered as he let an awkward stretch of silence blossom  between them.

 

“I… don't think I've ever heard you call anything … _cute_ before.”

 

Bill tightened his grip on his blanket and muttered into his knit sweater collar, “Well, in case you haven't noticed, I never had the ability to properly notice these trivial things before I became… _human_. Now I know it’s kinda the same feeling I get when I see a kitten or how I feel when I see you embarrassed or flustered.”

 

Dipper’s ears started to heat up and it wasn’t because he was leaning too close to the fire.

 

“Um, okay, I-I get it now,” he mumbled, looking back at the bubbling hot dog and hoping to change the subject. He didn't want to talk about emotions with Bill especially right now in the middle of the darkening forest where there was no escape. “Here, this one is done now. Eat it before it gets cold or I'll take it.” Dipper threw the bag of buns into Bill's lap and watched him fumble with the twist tie. It was pretty hilarious how the demon had gone from a leader in inter-dimensional domination to someone who was unable to figure out how to open a bag of white bread. Dipper sighed and balanced the roasting stick between his legs to be able to lend a helping hand.

 

“Fuck, Pine Tree don't you dare, I can handle this perfectly fine on my own thank you. In fact, give me that other stick. I want to cook my own fire-dog.” Bill stretched across Dipper to grapple for the other sick and ended up lying across the other's lap in order to reach for it, far too impatient to have simply waited for a response. The brunet groaned with annoyance and then shoved him off back into a sitting position.

 

“I know it’s cold, but personal space?? Ever heard of it? Jerk.”

 

Bill’s eyebrows scrunched up as he inhaled, ready to reply, but instead he closed his mouth and his expression became something more akin to deviousness. Eyes darted between the stick and Dipper’s cautious demeanor and he grinned slowly and started to shuffle closer and closer towards his camping partner.

 

“... Bill?” Dipper could sense he had made a mistake as soon as he tried to get the other man to explain himself.

 

Bill slid out of his blanket burrito and leaned himself towards Dipper’s slowly recoiling face. He lightly grabbed both of his shoulders and tried to snag a finger onto one of his blankets but Dipper twisted his body to try and stop him. The man in the yellow sweater changed tactics and knocked the other onto his back against the soft pine-needle strewn ground. Dipper yelped in surprise and cinched his eyes shut briefly before recovering. Once he reopened them, Bill’s face was looming over him with a hyena like grin. Both of his hands were placed beside either side of the brunets head, steadily supporting his body now straddled on top of Dipper.

 

“BILL, WHAT THE FUCK.”

 

“Piiine Tree, I’m cold. And you have more blankets than me. It’s only fair you share.

 

“BILL YOU - YOU JUST SHED YOUR BLANKETS LIKE - LIKE A SNAKE. YOU HAVE YOUR OWN, WHY THIS, WHAT DID I DO??”

 

Cipher leaned in until Dipper could feel the other’s breath mist across the faint hairs across his face. He was too overwhelmed and confused to think sensibly enough to just shove him off, so he lay there in barely suppressed panic, tightening his blankets around him to make him feel a smidgen more in control. If Dipper was a little bit more insane, he might have thought Bill was going to kiss him. But instead his face brushed past his cheek and his mouth was smothered with smoke tinged sweater fabric as Bill stretched past him and grabbed the second roasting stick. After he sat back up on Dipper’s hips, stick in hand, he started cackling at the expression on his victim’s face. His laughter echoed through the towering trees and seemed to reverberate all around them almost as if there were multiple people laughing along with him.

 

“Hey, hey Pine Tree,” he wheezed out between giggles. “Looks like you got yourself into a pretty... _(wheeze) **stick** -y (snort)_... situation.” He twirled the branch around his fingers as if trying to emphasize the joke, but all it did was make Dipper really want to hit him over the head with it.

  
Which he did. Right after he poked him in the stomach and he keeled over, and right before he dragged himself to their pile of wood to add more fuel to their fire.


	3. Tenting Under Ten Thousand Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bill is a little shit, part 2.

 

Bill absolutely loved nightfall. He loved how the darkness crept up on him like a sentient fog rolling in across an ocean and slithered around the gaps between trees and the wrinkles in the palms of his hands. If it weren't for their fire, he was pretty certain he’d still be happy here in the void underneath the forest canopy.

 

There was no moon that night, but if you looked up and managed to find a gap between the evergreens a whole other world was waiting. The milky way seemed to be overflowing with stars tonight. Bill was currently on the ground a few feet from Dipper staring right up at it.

 

Remnants of their dinner were strewn about beside them and Dipper was deeply engrossed in reading something on his phone. The reflective shine of it was bothering Bill’s stargazing but he wasn't in the mood to have the other man snap at him again. So he laid there, trying to block it out of his peripherals as best he could until he couldn't take it any longer.

 

“Hey, Dip-stick, I thought this was supposed to be a break from the real world.”

 

There was a deep sigh but no response and the blond smirked. Dipper didn't seem to be as ansty as earlier which was nice. As much as Bill liked to bug him and push all his wrong buttons, he liked it when Dipper was comfortable with him too. The past few months had been… difficult for him. As much as it sucked to rely on this nerdy kid, he was still here, sitting beside him. This wandering thought confused him sometimes, but overall he decided he liked it. Sure, the human had every right to be stressed out with him but damn him if he couldn't even try to see all this through his eyes.

 

It had started out with a bang. Literally. All those months ago, the second he had escaped from his stone tomb it was like being reborn. The air had seemed cleaner, the sounds around him richer and it was - to put it simply - quite fucking amazing to not be a rock.

 

Unfortunately, a couple of minutes after the initial event took place, all of his new feelings caught up to him and tore a hole straight through his fragile new chest. Well, it had felt like it anyway…

 

The only thing he remembered pre-human-blackout was seeing a gangly man with chestnut hair laying on the ground beside him. He had had no idea who was, so like any chaos loving demon would do, he’d poked him with a branch to check if he was dead or worth keeping around. When the man on the ground (later to be discovered to be none other than Dipper Pines) opened his eyes, as soon as their gazes locked was when it all went to hell. Everything went dark and cold and his brain had felt like it wasn't his anymore. He was _feeling_ things; guilt, confusion, anger, and other stuff he still can't put a name to.

 

Apparently, this blackout of his lasted multiple days. When he eventually woke up inside a dark room, he'd felt like he had spent a vacation inside of some sort of eternal nightmarish hellhole. Gratefully, things soon calmed enough for him to function semi-normally again and after many grueling talks with his new prison guards, Mabel had dubbed it the “mental breakdown to break all breakdowns” or some other garbage like that.

 

Things like flesh wounds and missing limbs had been nothing compared to the pain in his own mind.

 

He was used to fixing tangible suffering with a snap of his finger, but dealing with his own figurative demons was completely new territory. He had hid the deepest of his problems in the furthermost corners of his brain and tried to make light of his current situation. Yeah, it probably wasn't the best way to go about it, but what other choice did he have at the time? At least the twins had no idea of his new weaknesses. He had tried to avoid dealing with them by occupying everyone with other things and in turn the two siblings just thought he was erratic and insensitive. And Bill was pretty okay with that as long as they let him be.

 

Lately however, things were starting to change. For the better or for worse he didn't yet know, but what he _did_ know, was that he was starting to become happier. He was accepting things and moving forward. Not that you’d call it anything akin to “growing up”, but maybe he was, in a strange, ‘having to deal with a lack of immortality’ kind of way.

If anything, it was at least the start of a new stage in his life where he was actually starting to give a shit.

 

Lying down on top of a planet he’d once sworn supremacy on, felt pretty nice. Even without all the anomalies and chaos he’d once fantasized up for it.

 

In fact, if anyone cares to look close enough, there’s chaos everywhere.

 

*~*

 

“Bill… Why are you… putting dirt on your face…?”

 

Cipher closed his eyes with a hum and continued digging his hands into the ground and placing bits of soil onto his forehead and eyelids.

 

“Pine Tree, Pine Tree, Pine Tree… Don’t ask questions you don’t want to understand.”

 

“But I -”

 

“- Do you really want to know?”

 

“... Yes?”

 

“Turn of your phone and I’ll tell you.”

 

Dipper made a few quiet grumbling noises and shortly afterward the light of his phone disappeared. Bill paused his impromptu facial and beckoned the other closer. He felt rather than heard Dipper’s presence beside him because of how effective pine needles were in muffling noise. He could sense even with his eyes closed how torn Dipper was between waiting for him to speak first or surrendering the upper hand and asking his question again. The crackling of logs in the fire was the only noise for a good handful of seconds before anyone spoke.

 

“Are you… going to tell me anytime within the next 20 years?

 

…

 

Don’t give me the silent treatment now, Bill -”

 

“- Shhh… Dipper listen. Can you hear it?”

 

“Hear what?”

 

“Shut up and listen... The forest is so quiet. It’s almost unnerving, don’t you think?” Bill paused for dramatic effect. “What if a serial killer was walking around these woods right now as we speak. This would be the perfect place to hide a body.... Imagine being buried alive, your face slowly covered in bits of rotting wood and dirt as your entire being sinks closer and closer towards the core of the earth… Every breath you try and take, becoming smaller and smaller. A raw ache of suffocation taking over every fiber of your being...”

 

Dipper’s breathing had quickened ever so slightly during his little spiel and it seemed he was now even more engrossed waiting for his explanation. The seconds ticked on and an owl hooted softly in the distance.

 

Bill stayed still and started to count down from ten in his head.

 

Nine…

 

… Eight…

 

… Five…

 

… Two…

 

…

 

“BOO!”

 

“SHIT!”

 

Bill shot up like a zombie. The dirt on his face scattered everywhere it could reach, which, much to his enthusiasm, included Dipper.

 

“HA HA oh my GOD, you are too EASY! LOOK AT YOUR _FACE_ ! I’m gonna cry Pine Tree - you looked like you were just about to pee your pants.” Dipper was ass flat on the ground beside Bill who was cackling at his expense, yet again. If looks could kill, Bill really _would_ be a dead man.

 

After both of them had caught their breath, the blond’s grin was still as wide as ever.

 

“So, now you know why I was putting dirt on my face. I warned you about asking too many questions, but of course I knew you couldn’t refuse a look into my enigmatic psyche. How’d I do with my first campfire ghost story?”

 

“... Your… first... campfire ghost story?”

 

“Yeah! I wanted it to be a bit longer but I didn’t want you to get _too_ scared,” he winked. “Gotta do this campfire thing right… I researched some activities online and this was one of the most popular.” He thought he saw Dipper crack the smallest of smiles while he rolled his eyes but before he could be sure the brunet had already started to pick himself up and move away. As a sort of last minute effort of retaliation, Dipper grabbed their bag of jumbo marshmallows and shoved one of them into Bill’s smug mouth. He was surprised, but quickly realized what it was and tried to swallow it whole. After a few coughs and a look of horror on Dipper’s face later, Bill managed it and stuck out his tongue. They paused, looked at each other, and simultaneously burst into laughter.

 

“Bill, please tell me that was the first _and last_ time you’ll do that,” Dipper huffed, still slightly out of breath. “I really don’t like scary stories. Mabel’s the one who’s into that kind of stuff.”

 

“No can do promises like that Pine Tree, but I’ll keep it in mind. Can’t have you shitting yourself when you only brought 2 changes of clothes.”

 

“HEY.”

 

“I’m just telling it like it is. Also sharing a tent like that would be pretty… shitty _.”_

 

“Ha. Ha. You're hilarious. Speaking of, get up and get ready for bed because I’m dead tired and if we’re going to go hiking tomorrow I need some rest. And I do NOT want to be kept up all night, got it? Actually, If you really want the full wilderness adventure experience, you can sleep under the stars and I’ll take the tent. Sound good?”

 

“Well, I guess it wouldn’t be that ba-”

 

“- Perfect! Then that’s all set. I’m off to bed and you can do whatever you need to do out here. Good night.”

 

Dipper made his way into the tent and zipped the door closed. He turned on a flashlight to see what he was doing and Bill sat by himself outside watching the other’s silhouette flit back and forth across the canvas.

  
“... Yeah, yeah. Good night Pine Tree,” he muttered under his breath before he curled back onto the ground beside the fire’s embers and resumed his stargazing in undisturbed darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote all of this on and off throughout the day, so I'll probably re-read it a few times tomorrow to check for errors. Inspo to work on this came out of the blue and so did Bill's P.O.V. I really love writing Bill.
> 
> I'm planning for some good 'ol fashioned fluff next chapter, so hopefully I get around to working on that soon because that's my jam. Any important updates will be on my ghost town of a tumblr (incredibill.tumblr.com).
> 
> And hell, thank you guys so much for the lovely comments and kudos... It really warms my heart and makes this so much more enjoyable. I know this chapter is a lil similar to the last in format, but I wanted to write this scene out now so whoops there it is.


	4. Coming Out of My Cage and I've Been Doing Just Fine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp it's been a while... here's a very very short update. Hurrah for classic fanfic tropes, but its about time some stuff happened in this story 8')

Art is relative.

Not temperature. 

 

There was no doubt or argument that it was very  _ very _ cold that night.

 

The fire had been reduced to mere hot coals alongside Bill’s stilled form. He could go and get more firewood, but that meant letting more cold air into his sleeping bag and he was very much against that. Besides, wasn't it a bad idea to leave a fire unattended?

 

So, Bill lay in the growing darkness contemplating this inner turmoil. He  _ wanted _ to try his best to give Dipper a stress free holiday… Surely there must be a compromise.

 

Bill ran through the many different solutions in his head but eventually gave up when the last sliver of light from the coals hissed out. Now, instead of the comforting crackling of a bonfire, all he could hear in their patch of woods was Dipper’s light snoring. Dipper sure seemed comfortable. Come to think of it, it was probably much cozier inside that tent than out here. If Dipper was asleep it would be pretty easy to climb into the tent without him noticing… Would it be worth the risk of his wrath?

 

Something rustled in the bushes beside him as if in reply.

 

_ Yes. Definitely... _

 

_ “ _ Absolutely,” he whispered under his breath. 

 

With a final wide-eyed look in the direction of the trees, Bill twisted himself into a sitting position and shuffled over to the tent. It was small, but Dipper was pretty much just a pile of legs and legs can be easily rearranged.

 

Cipher slowly started unzipping the tent door. He could feel the very minute difference in air temperature radiating from inside. It was still chilly, but waaaay better than being helpless under the stars on a night like this.

 

Also, not that he’d actually admit it, but the random noises of nature around them made him a little bit nervous. Being somewhat lower on the food chain was going to take him a bit of getting used to.

 

He ducked and stepped into the tent. In the pitch black it was a bit exciting not knowing what calamity could befall him next. Bill felt out a space to crouch with his feet and closed the text back up. Dipper seemed to be knocked out solid and with every snore Bill became more and more confident the other man wouldn’t wake up until morning.

 

Speaking of Dipper’s snoring, instead of it being akin to a Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie, it was… kinda cute in an abstract way. It was soft and not grating on the ears at least. Bill supposed if Dipper sneezed like a kitten he shouldn’t be surprised by this new discovery either.

 

Still encased partially in his sleeping bag, Cipher next felt around the space in front of him with his hands to find a bit of potential free space. It was like playing a game of whack a mole with body parts (which in hindsight he thought had potential to be pretty hilarious apart from the hassle and mess.).

 

His right hand grazed something that felt like a foot and he jerked his arm back hoping it hadn’t waked Dipper. After a couple more snores later, he decided to screw timidness and weaseled his way into what he assumed was the right edge of the tent. There were a lot of blankets in here. Like, a ridiculous amount of blankets. Dipper must have stored them  _ all _ in here. 

He wiggled himself back and forth to get comfortable beside his tent-mate. He was still cold, if not colder after having to move so much out of his sleeping bag, so he grabbed some of the blanket wall beside him and covered himself - face and all - in some quilts and fuzzy throws. Ahh yes. This was the life.

 

Bill closed his eyes and turned onto his right side only to feel a warm cloud of air against his nose. He held in an exhale of breath and waited for Dipper to say something but soon enough, the sounds of deep sleep wafted relentlessly in his direction. He hadn’t realised just  _ how _ close he was to Dipper, and he could only assume the blankets were now apparently encasing both of them, acting as a great heat trapping burrow. It was undeniably cozy. Cipher’s eyelids started to droop and soon enough his breathing matched up with Dippers, both of them sound asleep.

 

~~~

 

Dipper shifted slightly in his sleeping bag. He wasn't yet quite awake, but the faint pastel streaks of dawn were trickling through the tree branches and waking up the forest around him. The air outside the tent was crisp and heavy with the musky smell of damp wood and leaves and a few early birds encouraged it with song. He tucked his knees a little tighter to his chest and nuzzled his face into his pillow. At the movement, he felt a warm squeeze around his middle and hummed at the comfort of it. It was so nice and warm in the tent he didn't want to open his eyes or properly wake up yet... At least not until another voice groggily hummed back.

 

Dippers eyes opened slowly in confusion and all he saw was a warm plaid pattern pressing against his nose. He lifted his left hand to shift the blanket on top of him and that was when he truly felt the other life form pressed against him restricting his movement. 

 

“B… Bill?”

 

_ “Hunghg...?” _

 

Bill was currently very thoroughly fulfilling his role of the big spoon in his sleep and in reply nuzzled  _ his _ head even further into the crook of Dippers neck. The brunette shivered due to the unexpected contact and was at a loss of what to do. 

This was weird - definitely weird - and it was also... Extremely comfortable. Dipper couldn't remember the last time he had slept so soundly without nightmares. He probably should pry himself out of the situation but he was hesitating and he wasn't completely sure why. This felt like the sort of thing where he'd regret his decision once he actually regained full consciousness, but if Bill wasn't awake yet then chances are he wouldn't remember this himself and nothing would come of it in the end.

Besides, it was still super early, and it had to be cold outside. A little longer in the tent meant a little longer he could be warm and relax.

 

So, eventually, Dipper’s breathing began to calm back down and soon enough he fell back into a light sleep; wrapped up in blankets and a clingy ex-dream demon.

  
Bill on the other hand, cracked open an eyelid and smiled before humming contentedly and shifting so his head was resting against the top of his friends messy hair.


End file.
